Sneak Preview: DOE Announces 15% Cap on Indirect Costs; TRO Issued
(The following was excerpted from a recent Thompson Grants Compliance Expert article). In an action similar to that taken by the National institutes of Health (NIH) in February, the Department of Energy (DOE) on April 11 announced a new policy limiting indirect costs on DOE research grants to 15%. In its announcement, DOE said the policy action is “aimed at halting inefficient spending by colleges and universities while continuing to expand American innovation and scientific research.”
Wasting no time in expressing its concerns, the Association of American Universities (AAU) said this action by DOE “would have an immediate and dire impact on critical energy, physical sciences and engineering research nationwide.” AAU also joined with others — the American Council on Education, the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities and various institutions of higher education (IHEs) — and filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, requesting that the court “halt” the proposed DOE cut, calling the action “flagrantly unlawful.”
On April 16, a temporary restraining order (TRO) was issued in the case in U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. Defendants’ opposition to the motion is due by April 22; a hearing is set for April 28.
“Whether applied to DOE, NIH or any other federal research agency, the fundamental truth remains the same — a cut to F&A [facilities and administrative] is a cut to research that carries with it enormous consequences for the security, well-being and prosperity of the American people,” the collation said.
The parties have previously mounted a successful pushback, at least temporarily, of an NIH-announced F&A cap (“Permanent Injunction on NIH F&A Cap Issued April 4”). NIH established an across-the-board 15% indirect cost rate for any new grant issued as of Feb. 10, and for all existing grants to IHEs retroactive to that date. However, immediately on the heels of the action, a lawsuit was filed to stop the policy change from taking effect. Eventually, three similar suits were filed, and then consolidated, in the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts.
On April 4, a permanent a permanent injunction and final judgment was issued enjoining the NIH from implementing the policy change. The federal government is appealing the decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, and a hearing is set on the appeal for May 9.
(The full version of this story has now been made available to all for a limited time here.)
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